Piano-pedal.



No. 655,388. Patented Aug. 7, I900. W. M. BAUER.

PIANO PEDAL.

'licntion file (No Iodal.) 2 Sheets-Shaun],

- 17203722 2)", ii'ilz'ammawz' (In Iodel) NiTEn PATENT OFFICE.

\VlLLIAM M. BAUER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.-

PIANO-PEDAL.

SBPECJEFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,388, dated August'7, 1900.

Application filed April 21, 1900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. BAUER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chi cago, in the county of Cook and State'of Illible fulcrumor connecting means ofiinpr oved construction for the pedals,-which willobviate all danger of squeakin g, prevent torsional movement of thepedals, and operate as particularly d urable and effective means fortheir purpose.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of the pedals and pedal-leversof an upright piano provided with my improvements; Figs. 2, 3, and 4,enlarged sections taken, respectively, on lines 2, 3, and 4: of Fig. 1in the direct-ions indicated by the arrows; Fig. 5, an enlarged brokenperspective View of the flexible fulcrum of a pedal; Fig. 6, an enlargedsection taken on line 6 of Fig. 1 and showing one of the springs whichserve to return the pedals; Fig. 7, a section taken on line 7 of Fig. 6,and Fig. 8 a detail of construction.

A is the bottom board, and A the pedalrail, of a piano-casing.

B, (J, and D are pedals serving the usual purpose, and a b cpedal-levers. The levers a b c are formed with i'nortises d to fit overtenons e at the tops of blocks or lever-supports 6. t

E E are pedal-springs fastened by means of screws to the tenons e andlevers, as indicated in Fig. 6. The springs E are noiseless in actionand serve to hold the levers in the horizontal plane out of contact withthe tenons e.

The middle pedal (3 is straight and is fulcrunied between its ends, asshown in Fig. 3. The pedals B and D are curved to extend laterally tothe left and right and are f ulcrumed at their rear ends, as shown inFig. 2.

F is a stationary block or pedal-support provided on its upper side,between ends, with a recessfand provided near the opposite ends withopenings g.

G is a horizontal plate of comparatively Serial No. 13,632. (No model.)

thin flexible metal, provided midway between its ends with an opening7L. Fitted upon each end portion of the plate G is a strengtheningplateG, of stiff metal. Extending through the opening it of each plate G is aplate or strip H, of comparatively thin flexible metal, and fittedagainst the opposite end portions thereof are stiff metalstrengthening-plates H. Plates G and H are provided at each of thepedals to form the fulcrums thereof. At the pedals B D the plates G arefastened along their rear end portions against the upper sides of theopenings 9 and along their forward end portions along the upper sides ofthe rear end portions of the pedals. The plates H are fastened alongtheir upper end portions against the forward face of the block F andalong their lower end portions against the rear ends of the pedals, allas indicated most clearly in Figs. 2 and 5. The parts may be fastenedtogether with screws, as shown, the plates G H operating as jam-platesto strengthen and stiffen the fastenings and render them flexible onlybetween the jamplates. The plates or strips H extend through theopenings 71, in a manner to be out of contact with the plates G. Thefulcrum-plates form pivotal connections between the pedals andstationary block F, permitting the pedals to swing easily and withoutfriction in the Vertical plane. The plates operate together to hold thepedals when subjected to torsional strain against twisting at theirfulcrums. It will be understood that pressure of the foot upon thelaterallyprojecting ends of the pedals B and D subjects them totorsional strain, and all bent pedals hitherto provided for pianos ofwhich I am aware yield more or less under such strain, which isobjectionable. Any twisting of the pedal at the fulcrum when operatedtends to distort the parts and produce a squeaking noise. My improvementnot only adds greatly to the durability of the connection, but alsoovercomes all danger of torsional yielding and of squeaking. The pedalC, though not subject to the same torsional strain, is preferablyprovided with plates G H and strengtheningplates G H, as described. Allthe plates G and H are preferably curved longitudinally, as indicated inFig. 8, so that when screwed in place they flatten against the plates GH, fitting with especial closeness at the ends to prevent any danger ofvibration between the parts which would produce noise. The plate G atthe middle pedal is attached along one end portion to the upper surfaceof the pedal, as shown in Fig. 8, and along its forward end portionagainst the under side of the pedalrail A, which forms thepedal-support. The strip or plate II is fastened along its lower endagainst a vertical shoulder 2' of the pedal and along its upper endagainst the rear of the pedal-rail A. The strengthening-plates G H servethe same purpose as before described.

The pedals B and D are connected between their ends, in a common manner,by means of the rods 70 with the levers CL 0, and the connection betweenthe rear end of the pedal 0 and the lever b is by means of the confinedpost Z. The springs E on the levers CL 0 operate to hold the said leversnormally in the horizontal plane andsustain the forward ends of thepedals in their normallyraised positions. The spring E on the lever 11tends to resist rise of the rear end of the pedal O and consequentlowering of the forward end of said pedal. Thus the pedal-springs Eserve to contribute the desired resistance to lowering of the pedals andto return the pedals, while the plates G H operate merely as flexiblefulcrums. Between the surfaces of metal and wood and wherever one movingpart strikes or may strike another suitable felt mnflles are provided,as indicated in the drawings.

While I have described my improvements minutely with regard to form anddetails of construction, I do not desire to be unduly limited thereto,because my improvements may be variously modified in the matter of formand details of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit of theinvention as defined by the claims.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a piano, the combination of a pedallever supporting block, a pedallever, a pedal-raising spring connecting the pedallever and saidsupporting-block, a pedalsupport, a pedal, a connection between thepedal and said lever, and a torsional strainresistingfleXible-metal-plate connection separate from the pedal-raising springbetween the pedal and pedal-support, whereby said plate connectionoperates as a torsional strainresisting fulcrum for the pedal, and thepedal is raised by the pedal-raising spring.

2. The combination with the pedal and pedal-support, of a plate offlexible metal having an opening through it fastened at opposite sidesof its opening to said support and pedal respectively, and a strip offlexible metal extending at an angle to said plate through the openingtherein and fastened on opposite sides of said plate to the said supportand pedal respectively, said plate and strip operating as the fulcrum ofthe pedal.

3. In a piano, the combination of a pedallever support 2 having a tenonc, a pedallever having a mortise (1 into which the tenon extends, aspring E fastened to the lever and tenon and forming the sole connectionbetween the said lever and support, a pedalsupport, a pedal connectedwith the pedallever, and a flexible-metal-plate connection between'thepedal and pedal-support.

WILLIAM M. BAUER.

In presence of J. W. DYRENFORTH, A. D. BAooI.

